This is the last chapter. Thanks for being there and reading my story! Be prepared for the Sequal!
We don't own it...
Ardeth POV
The wedding was spectacular. We had decided to leave Jasmine with the O'Connell's, since she had foreseen that there would be a child right away, and with their jobs, the newlyweds would need a nanny. She was happy to be of some use to us, and was glad that the Goddess hadn't been too angry afterwards. She had helped Evelyn to dress for the ceremony, and helped the festivities afterwards.
As the years passed by, a boy was born. By the time he was five years old, Jasmine had been having a recurring vision of a woman finding the books that had been lost in the city. She relayed to me through the Goddess that I was destined to go there, and to find the woman that would lead us on our next journey.
"Ardeth, your people have stopped watching the city, but you will return to it soon. There is a woman there that will be digging up the priest, and this time, there will be more danger and loss than before. But there will be choices to make. It's not going to be easy. Will you accept your destiny?" She asked.
"Nothing in life is easy, Nameless one. Choosing a name for you has been far from easy." I said.
"You have found a name for me?" She asked, looking at me strangely.
"I believe I have. But I would prefer that Jasmine were here so that she would know you by your true name." Ardeth said.
"As you wish, my Medjai." She said with a smile, and we disappeared.
Jasmine was playing with a boy, five years old. The Goddess frowned at him, sighing. He stopped in front of her and said something, no doubt a derogatory term in English society. The Goddess kneeled in front of him, and he ran behind Jasmine screaming a moment later.
"Nameless One, you shouldn't do such things to a child. You might upset his mind permanently." Jasmine said.
"It will make him stronger, Desert Rose. He will need that strength, and you know this. He will look upon the face of the ten plagues of Egypt, the scourge of the Gods. He will face him, and will not back down. Isn't that right Alexander?" The Goddess said, winking at the little boy.
"How'd you know me name?" He asked.
"Because, I can do special things. Much like Jasmine can, but a lot better. I'm very old. You'll be doing special things rather soon I might think." She replied.
"You mean like magic tricks?" He said.
"Quite possibly my small friend. I may teach you a few in the future, if your mother doesn't mind." She said.
"No, me mum won't mind. She loves stuff like this." Alexander said.
"My, Alexander, you are quite the intelligent little boy. I'm thinking you already know a few tricks." The Goddess said.
"Call me Alex. I know things mum hasn't told me. I see them in my sleep. Like Jas does." He replied, sitting on the Goddess's lap.
"Yes, maybe her power is rubbing off on you. She was helping your mother and father before you were born, perhaps something of her power became a part of you. Either that, or it's your mother's Egyptian blood coming to light. Your mother was someone important a long, long time ago. Three sides Alex, remember that. Three sides." She said.
"You mean like a pyramid? It's got four though." He said.
Well, almost. A pyramid has four sides, but you are one. The final side will come in time." The Goddess said, hugging him.
"We're home! Jasmine, are you here?" Evelyn called out.
"Of course she's here. Where else would she be?" O'Connell said.
"Well, with any luck, she would have taken Alex to the museum. It would do him some good." Evelyn said.
"So would a game of ball." O'Connell said.
"I will not have my son become some sort of ruffian. It's bad enough my brother is, I don't need another in the family." Evelyn said.
"We're in here ma'am." Jasmine called back.
"Well, hello. We haven't seen you in a while." Evelyn said.
"Hello, Mrs. O'Connell. I hope that your trip wasn't too bad." The Goddess said.
"It was grand, thank you. May I ask what you are doing here? There hasn't been another attack has there?" Evelyn said.
"No, The Goddess wished to see Jasmine." I said.
"You've found a name for her?" Jasmine whispered, excited.
"Ah, this is exciting! I've always wondered how a Goddess or God became who they were." Evelyn said. The Goddess smiled.
"It will release me, give me a freedom I do not know as a nameless deity. I will not have a following, but that does not reduce the power I receive." She said.
"Well, is there some sort of ceremony that goes with this?" O'Connell asked.
"No, not that my father has told me." She replied.
"Then what are we waiting for. Give her a name and we'll have a party or something." O'Connell said with a grin.
I looked at the Goddess, and at the others. A feeling had settled about the room, and I kneeled in front of her. Everyone else bowed their heads as if it was a solemn occasion. She seemed tense, perhaps wondering if I would give her a name that she would like. It had taken me over five years to think of an appropriate name for the Goddess, and I was sure that she would like the name that I had found.
"You came to me from the past, and spoke of the future. Your words rang with destiny and power. Many names came to my mind, Theoris for great and powerful, Omorose for beauty, Olufemi because you are beloved of the Gods, and even Bennu for the eagles in the sky, because you loved my friend Horus from the start. But none of them seemed to speak to me, because they are not a name befitting one like you. For the destiny you've spoken of, and the destiny you've been unaware of speaking, I chose for you, Meskhenet. You are destiny." I said.
There was a gasp in the room, not of any of the beings in there, but of the world around us. The ancient relics in the home seemed to breath again. A feeling of ancient relief and pride seeped through the room. There was a sudden noise, of thunder and crashing. A bright light flashed from the Goddess, Jasmine screamed, and when our eyes adjusted, the Goddess was kneeling on the floor, and Jasmine was disappearing.
"Thank you Ardeth." She said, but in the voice of the Goddess. And was gone.
Alexander was kneeling by the Goddess, who hadn't stood up. I walked to her, kneeling by her and taking her hands. I took her hands in mine, aware of the power surging under her skin. I helped her to stand slowly. Evelyn had grabbed Alexander by the hand, taking him away from us. I was unsure why she was frightened. They were in the presence of a greater being, but they knew that she had a better use for us than killing us. I looked into her eyes, and noted the awe in which they regarded Meskhenet.
I looked into the Goddess's eyes, amazed at them. There was a great happiness in her eyes. Around her head was a band, the color of the sun setting, reds and blues. Her costume was a pristine and pure white, and her hair shone like velvet, plaited with gold on the ends, much like before, but in a more graceful fashion. And behind her, wings like a hawk. They disappeared, becoming like the light that seemed to surround her in a halo of gold. She smiled, and turned to the O'Connell's.
"Thank you as well for treating me as well as you did. I apologize that Jasmine cannot be of help to you, at least until I learn how to split myself once more." She said.
"That's alright. We were thinking that he'd like to join us on our little excursions. Alex loved Jasmine though." O'Connell said.
"And she loved him, very much. And we give our thanks to the wonderful treatment you gave us." Meskhenet said.
"Thank you. We do plan to help you clear your father's name, make no mistake about that." Evelyn said.
"No. You can't go into these next few years with that goal in mind. I do apologize, but I will have to suppress the memories of Jasmine, and myself. And Ardeth. You have to forge your destiny on your own from what you have been told. Ardeth, you cannot know as much as you do, and there is much more that you need to know. We must start putting events in order so that things will occur and the world will not suffer darkness." Meskhenet said.
"We understand. It's a bit of a headache knowing all this." O'Connell said.
She smiled, and squeezed my hand. She turned fully to the small family and closed her eyes. She glowed brighter for a moment, and then we disappeared. She turned back to me and kissed me softly.
"We will meet again Ardeth, soon. I've so much to teach you, to show you. And I've much more to learn from you." She said, backing up. She began to fade away. "Thank you so much for my name, you are protected by a full fledged goddess now, and my father.
The last I saw of her was her eyes, and then she was gone, the call of jackals echoed through my tent.